alligoat

You gotta luv it. Paying top dollar for a used Rolex part with a ding in it! My bet is that it doesn't sell!

That case looks pretty awesome. The crown guards are spot on- thinner and more pointed like the originals. Like JSPH says, where did this watch come from?

I agree, that two tone GMT is a good looking watch. The others look like a bunch of crap! Can you say caca!

Those are some pretty awesome watches! That 6538A looks like it's right out of Skeet and Urul's book- page 31! I wonder what the guys over at Timezone would say if you posted a pic over there! Of course I realize that we can't do that, but we take this whole watch thing to a level those guys don't even think of!

@ Enzo, Looking thru Skeet & Urul's book, Vintage Rolex Sport Models, it becomes apparent that we're not that close to perfection! A lot of the 6538's had gold lettering and some had the depth in white- 200m=660ft, not the 100m=330ft and one example has it in red. All of the 6538's have Brevet crowns and some of the later models had Officially Certified Chronometer at the bottom of the dial. Production ended in the late 50's. And the bezel is all wrong (at least according to Skeet and Urul). The red triangle w/ the pearl (small) is OK, but the minute markers never extend past 15 minutes on any bezel insert- a standard sub insert so to speak, except for the red triangle. The only example of an insert with the minute markers around the entire insert is a 1970's model 5517. Some early bezel inserts had no minute marks- 6204, early 6536, 6538, and 6200. Good news is the fat minute hand is correct for this model as well as 6536, late 6200, 5510 and 5508. 6536's typically had the twinlock crown- Rolex logo w/ the slash (line) below and the 6536 had the 100=330 rating- it might be easier to call ours the 6536! And besides, who is really going to know. And you're right about drilling out the lug holes, it's going to be a challenge!

The two tones and the solid gold Rollies have date wheels with a gold background.

I don't know what grosgrain is but the old nylon preppy straps can be found at http://www.centralwatch.com/ They come in 16, 18 and 20mm sizes.

I just took the bracelet off of 6538 and you're right Nanuq. On my watch, it looks like the lugs holes were pretty far back from the ends of the lugs, those holes were filled and new holes were drilled closer to the ends of the lugs, but right next to the old holes. the filler is some lighter colored stuff, but fairly hard. While I was at it, I got the duct tape out of my truck and opened the case back- works pretty easily! White plastic spacer holding the Asian movement- no markings. Between the case lugs it reads Orig Rolex Design, 16600 and a serial number on the other end, maybe stainless steel, also. Inside of the caseback also said 16600 and had the 750K stamp for gold! Yeh, right baby! Kinda like the $60 datejust I bought on ioffer last month- it looks good and keeps good time (so far), what more can you ask for! I was just buying it for parts or to play with!

Yep, twinlock crown, Rolex logo with the line below, and the plexi crystal is domed about 2mm. The bezel insert doesn't bother me that much, except for the GD pearl! When you compare it to the pearl on your 6536, the gen pearls were/are so subtle, and no metal ring or a very subtle one. The rep pearl is big and has the metal rim. I guess I could knock it off! And it's the age old question, how hard is it going to be to find and insert that fits, w/o selling the farm.

Well lucky me, my Rol187 arrived from Silix today! The bezel insert is like Nanuq's and has the red triangle at the top. Vintage Rolex Sport Models has a pic of a 6538 w/ the red triangle on the insert The dial has the applied lume, no wg surrounds, but mine is a bit yellow green- need to tone it down. The minute hand is pretty thick, like on an LV sub, and the hands are a tad brighter than the hour markers. I'll be checking out the Vintage Rolex book tonite! White dial text w/ 100m=300ft, and Submariner below No lugs holes- get out the drill, this could be a little tricky. I guess I'll try to angle the drill bit from the inside and drill thru to the outside. A mini right angle drill sure would be helpful- real mini! The bezel is uni-directional and clicks- that can't be right. And a screw just fell out of the rivetted bracelet, better tighten them all! Case appears to measure 38.5mm, but I'll get out the calipers tonite at home and check it closer I already scraped off the 116610 sticker and I'll take the case opener to it tonite and check out the Asian auto movement! This should be fun, and for what you pay, who cares if you mess it up!

@ Nanuq, Could you enlighten me as to which is the original 6536 and which is the rep. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd choose the one on the right in the first picture as the gen.

Is River selling a strap or the watch? That watch would have a Sinn modified 7750 Valjoux movt. and they run in the $1000+ range. The Asian 7750 movt has subdials at 3, 6 & 9, whereas the Swiss 7750 has them at 6, 9, & 12. Swiss is 28800bph and Asian is 21600bph. An Asian with subdials at 6, 9, and 12 would be a new invention- but maybe it's in the works!

So if the DW movement is bi-compax, the only advantage it has over the Lemania copy whatever it is movt is the assymetrical pusher set up.

I guess we're all watching the same stuff on ebay. Koizumi13 has the bridge and the case, etc. Also, I've been watching Tony.Anne auction off cases, etc. The prices are high and I sure wish they'd come down. Also, what is the DW movt? Is it a bi-compax or three dial chronograph movt? I'm assuming it's not a true Valjoux 72 movt. And I'd love to know where these cases are coming from, cause I need one! At a good price , of course!

I took my Valjoux 72 Wittnauer chronograph into my watchmaker today. It was running about an hour fast in 24 hours. My watchmaker took one look at it and said the hairspring looked a little dirty. He took the balance wheel and hairspring out- one screw, and dipped them in the cleaning solution, let it dry and then reinstalled it. He put it on the Vibragraph after that and said it was just a little slow now. He then polished the crystal for me in about 5 seconds on another machine. Then he looked at my Rolex 6238 rep and took the case back off on it. I had to explain to him that it was a replica from China and the movement was the Asian Valjoux 7750. He was looking for a Valjoux 72 movement thinking it was a real Rolex. He liked the inscription on the inside of the caseback also. At least it was the real inscription and not the "Gelena Shitinerand" inscription. I told him that the watch came from China and that the only problem was that there were some quality contol issues w/ the Asian 7750 movt. The funny thing is, my watchmaker is Chinese, or I guess more accurately, of Chinese descent. He's been here in Houston in the same location for 20 years. But I'm sure glad I found him, he loves to talk about this stuff and takes the time to show me things. He didn't even charge me to clean the hairspring on my Valjoux 72.

And after you get a hold of a red sub fr. Watchmaster, or MBW, get in touch w/ Joe to get it modded (RBJ69). he's got a whole list of mods that he can perform to make the watch look more like the originals. Install a Tropic 127 plastic crystal, a correct bezel insert modify the crowm guards to look like the original drill out the lug hole- the orig are larger than the rep holes and install larger springbar pins polish the case and the bracelet Then you'll be wearing around a red sub that'll fool just about everyone! Only a WIS would be able to tell that it's not real!

It's always fun to see Bond w/ those Rolex subs on his wrist in the early pics. I remember when Thunderball came out, that's when I first started to pick up on the Rolex Submariner. It cost $210 back in 1965!

I'd agree with that. Until you take the case back off, who can be certain. And the guy has never sold a watch before, so he's not a dealer or even an enthusiast for that matter. But I guess he's open to using pp, so that's a plus. But I'm not a gambler, so I'd pass!

I looked at a similar watch today at my watchmakers. It had a W serial number- so it was circa 1995. He took the case back off and it's a 4030 movt.- which I believe is the Zenith, but it had a Rolex rotor. My watchmaker didn't realize that it was a Zenith, but I would figure that Rolex takes the Zenith movement and adds its own signature parts, kinda like they use to do on the Valjoux 72 in the 6263 Daytonas. BTW, the subdials line up w/ the 3 and the 9 and seconds was at 9 o'clock. And of course, an all gold watch is going to worth more. The one I looked at was TT, with gold dial and bezel, SS case. It looked like a 95 watch, it was pretty well worn- the TT bracelet had a lot of scratches on it.

Hey Woody, Rolex only made the 37mm 6263 and 6239, 6241, 6245, etc. w/ the 19mm lugs. The 40mm reps/ w 20mm lugs are just the rep community's version. All the original daytonas had a modified Valjoux 72 movt. - 72B, 722, 727. And look for the assymetrical pushers on the originals. And the old bands are flimsy indeed, and narrow at the clasp, and everyone knew you didn't you didn't give no lip to Big John, ... just like Ubi said. BTW, what movement do you have? The Lemania/Venus/ Seagull, or the Valjoux 7750 Asian copy?

Hi Rob, It's great to have you here. I've always enjoyed your posts and they're one of the things that make these forums so great. We are all able to learn so much because you are willing to share your knowledge and experience with us. Thanks Mac

On one of those pictures, you can see 722 on the bottom of the movt. And the dial is consistent w/ the pre-Daytona 6239- and the non-screw down pushers on the case. How is it that these guys are always over in some distant country where you'd very possibly just be throwing your money away w/o recourse! If it's real, it's a $15K+ watch!

I've got a couple of the late 60's riveted bands and they are definitely on the flimsy side- hollow links and old fashioned clasp. The safety clasp was a good invention, because it kept the oyster band from inadvertantly popping open on you. My educated guess is that the 1680 cost around $400 in 1970. I remember seeing a 5513 in the window of a jewelery store for $210 in 1966. And a friend bought a 1680 in the late 70's for $700.

It would be best to get a genuine case on ebay. And a 1575 movt. for an older datejust would go for $800-1000. Wouldn't it be better to watch Astorlive or one of the other reputable dealers and get a real Datejust? I've seen em as low as $850 for a 1500 Date and there are good ones to be had in the $1000 to 1500 range- and they're not Frankenwatches. Just vintage Rolex. Unless you just happen to have the movement laying around, and want to put it to use, then I'd get the gen case. Then you'd have a genuine Frankenwatch, instead of a Rep w/ a Rolex movement- there's no future in a rep w/ a gen movement! FYI, Saabin did mod a MBW DRSD case and put a 1575 movt in it- but that was probably 5-6 months ago.

Wow JJ, that Orbita Automatic Watch Winding Database says my Valjoux7750 and 7751 movements should go in a Clockwise direction. I know my winders are set to go one direction and then reverse, etc, etc. Now I'm going to have to go check out the winders and see if they can be set to CW only. Of course, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense- how does one keep their wrist from going in a counterclockwise direction? And those are two fairly nice Swiss Valjoux watches and the winder is for convenience, since each has a day/date feature and the 7751 has a moon phase- that's a lot of stuff to reset when it's time to put them on. Guess I'll have to check it out when I get home tonite!